


Bird Skills

by BlackRoseMii



Series: Fair Game Week 2020 [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:47:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23213503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackRoseMii/pseuds/BlackRoseMii
Summary: Qrow and Clover are on a mission. But their target is out of reach? What will they do?
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Fair Game Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665493
Comments: 5
Kudos: 65





	Bird Skills

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for the title. I should have come up with something better.

Whether it was the graduation from the academy, the celebrations when he climbed the ranks of the military, or the promotion to ace operative, Clover was always the center of attention. And it wasn't like he didn't like attention. He was a sociable person. He loved chatting with people and the atmosphere that came with it.

But every time he had felt something was missing. Sometimes he would look next to him, thinking he would find the missing piece, but all he saw was nothing. There was no one by his side. It made interactions with others feel hollow.

And it didn't help that most of the people talking to him only did it to gain favors. To get some of Clovers luck. They were good at hiding it, but over the years, he knew they were just using him. It was one reason why he stopped letting people into his life. To prevent himself from getting hurt.

But now, he wanted to try his luck once more.

Todays mission would take them far out into the tundra, so the ace operatives and their new teammates had a lot of time to kill.

„Quick Uncle Qrow, random useless fact!“ the girl in red suddenly yelled, pointing towards her uncle.

He had to come up with something fast or he would feel her rage.

„Uh...Crows can talk like parrots.“

„Wouldn't you know?“ the blonde girl commented cheekily. Her sister snickered beside her.

„I sure would love to hear that,“ Clover added.

Qrows eyes widened and a blush made its way to his cheeks. He quickly looked away and moved his hand behind his neck. Ruby and her sister watched him, hiding their grins.

The three of them exchanged looks whose meanings only they seemed to know. While Qrow shook his head slightly, the girls grins widened and they could barely contain their laughter. The brunette wasn't sure what secret language they used, but he found it endearing how they teased their uncle and how easy he could be flustered.

Clover leaned his head on his hand and smiled to himself. Watching them still left him wanting to be part of Qrow's little circle, but ever since the huntsman witnessed his panic attack, he has been able to tune out the voice in his head.

And even if he wasn't able to, he was sure he could drop his guard around the huntsman and let him know if he was feeling unwell. It was something he never imagined would have been possible before meeting him. He always kept his flaws and insecurities to himself in order to keep up the picture of the perfect operative.

But he had realized that he didn't need to do that around Qrow. Their similar semblances seemed to also give them similar life experiences. Even if their lives and backgrounds couldn't be more different.

Qrow had grown up in a tribe, away from big cities and always around the dangers of Grimm. The brunette didn't know a lot about his academy days, but from what he heard, he seemed like a trouble-maker. After graduating, he went around the whole world for missions, most of the time completely by himself.

On the other hand, Clover was born in Atlas and grew up in a middle-class family. He'd been sheltered and far away from any danger. His time in the academy was mostly spent studying and training. He was a model student through and through. He had never left Solitas, even after graduating and climbing the ranks in the military.

But there was one thing they shared: the scorn of the people around them.

It was clear with Qrow. His semblance brought bad luck to everyone around him. Nobody wanted to be close to him in fear of something bad happening to them.

But for Clover, it wasn't any better. People either used him and left as soon as they didn't need him anymore, or they were doubting him, saying that all his accomplishments were mere luck. That nothing he did was thanks to his skills.

And at times, he wondered if they were right about him.

But all of this didn't matter whenever he saw Qrow. There was no need for him to hide anymore. He found someone who he could share his pain with. Possibly the only person in the whole world who could.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard screeching in the distance. The helicopter started to descend and while Ruby and her team were startled by the sudden sound, the operative stood up from his spot and began to speak while rolling his shoulders.

„Okay everyone, time to exterminate a Grimm nest,“ he said calmly.

Their mission was to get rid of a group of Grimm that had made their home too close to a lookout tower in the tundra. The local soldiers weren't able to handle their numbers, so the ace operatives were called as back-up.

As the teens practically jumped out the helicopter and readied their weapons, the operative met with one of the stationed soldiers. They briefed him about the situation and then went back to the tower, tending to those injured in the Grimm attack.

„They said they have been able to push most of the Grimm back into the caves, but it's only a matter of time until they come back. Additionally, it seems like they are being led by a more powerful Grimm, but it hasn't attacked anyone yet,“ the brunette explained after returning to Qrow and the teens.

„So, if we take out their leader, the rest will leave?“ Ruby asked.

Clover nodded in response.

„Most likely. However, it's possible that the smaller Grimm will protect their leader. One team has to carve a way for the other.“

„Leave it to us!“ The girl said with confidence.

The plan was to lure out the smaller Grimm by attacking the caves from the outside with bombs. Ruby's team would then handle the waves, while Qrow and Clover would focus on the leader. If it didn't show itself by the time the smaller Grimm were gone, both teams would enter the cave in search for it.

And just as planned, the attacks did their job and the teens handled the fleeing Grimm easily. But after the second wave, there was silence. It seemed like all Grimm had been eliminated and Clover was about to lead them into the caves. However, they were stopped when the mountain suddenly rumbled and boulders broke away from it.

They all stared up and saw a giant Nevermore seemingly rise up from the mountain itself, its cry echoing through the tundra.

The huntsmen and huntresses could only stare open-mouthed, watching as the Grimm made its way up into the air, other smaller ones following it.

„That's...a big bird,“ was the only thing Qrow was able to say.

Clover nodded in agreement and then turned towards the girls.

„You take care of the smaller ones. We'll take the leader.“

They gave him a collective „Yes, sir.“ and made their way towards the mountain, the Grimm already waiting for them.

The leader, however, stayed high above the clouds, without a sign of wanting to descend. The operative had to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked for a way to reach it. He wondered if he were able to the mountain, but even then, his hook wouldn't be able to reach that high.

„It doesn't look like it wants to come down at all,“ Qrow stated dryly.

„And getting up won't be easy either.“

„Are you sure about that?“

Clover turned his attention to the black-haired man. He raised one eyebrow as a silent question, which prompted Qrow to shrug his shoulders.

„You just need this thing close enough, right?“

„Yes, but how-?“ he was interrupted by a confident smirk and a smug voice.

„My turn to show off.“

Before the brunette could say anything more, Qrow readied himself as if he wanted to jump and in a sudden flurry of feathers, he turned into a bird, flying straight up to the Grimm above them.

Clover could only watch him, speechless. His confusion about what had happened was quickly replaced by admiration for the huntsman. He had already known how capable Qrow was as a fighter, but he had never guessed he was hiding such an impressive skill.

After a while the now black-feathered man must have reached their target. The giant Nevermore screeched in pain and its flight became erratic and irregular. It looked like it wanted to shake off what was on its back, but instead it was slowly led down towards the ground.

The earth beneath him shook from the shock as the Grimm hit the ground and Clover had to shield his eyes from the snow that whirled up at the impact.

Once the cloud faded away, he saw the creature struggling to stand up, held in place by Harbinger stuck in its throat. But the weapon's owner was nowhere to be seen.

Clover approached the Grimm carefully and soon a small black bird appeared from above. Before it landed, it turned back into the huntsman, and he landed gracefully on his weapon. He had no problem balancing himself on the sword, even with the Nevermore still struggling underneath it.

Qrow jumped down from his weapon, removed it and quickly turned it into its scythe form before he made one last strike to sever the Grimms head from its body.

It dissolved into black mist and scattered in the wind.

Clover was still unable to move as the black-haired man approached him, putting his weapon away.

„Uh, sorry. I think I was supposed to leave something for you, but...“the man said bashfully.

It took the brunette several more seconds to process everything that just happened. His brain was still rebooting when he suddenly started to laugh. It surprised the huntsman.

„You- Did you just-?“ the operative was still unable to form a complete sentence.

He ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head and taking a few more moments to sort his thoughts.

„You just rode a giant Nevermore.“

„Yes?“

„And you turned into a bird.“

„Yes?“ Qrow said with a chuckle.

He couldn't contain his smile anymore and neither could Clover. His face lit up with excitement when he continued.

„How did you just turn into a bird?!“

The corners of Clover's mouth began to hurt from the smile on his face.

„Ah, well...It's kind of a curse...“

The huntsman looked away, trying to hide his blushing face. But this time, Clover wouldn't let him. He stepped up and grabbed his shoulders, startling the other man. Qrow looked up and when he saw Clovers eyes shining like they had never done before, his smile grew wider as well.

„A curse? This is everything _but_ a curse. Qrow Branwen, you're the most impressive man I've ever met.“

He blurted out his honest feelings without thinking. But seeing how happy they made Qrow, the brunette was more than glad to have said them. His eyes shone brighter than the sun and his smile widened until it must have hurt.

If Clover hadn't retained some of his discipline he would have kissed him on the spot.


End file.
